Safety mechanism for firearms



Dec. 6, 1949 w. c. ROEMER' SAFETY, MECHANISMS FOR FIREARMS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 6, 1948 Qm mm Wm n m n m W m by n h H. m p %H)v r mm .N 0w

Dec. 6, 1949 w. c. ROEMER SAFETY-MECHANISMS FOR FIREARMS 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed Nov. 6, 1948 Patented Dec. 6, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICESAFETY MECHANISM FOR FIREARMS William C. ,Roemer, New Haven, 'Conn.,assignor to 01in Industries, Inc. New Haven, =Gonn., a corporation ofDelaware Application November 6, 1948, Serial No. 58,677

9 Claims. (CI. 42-40.)

The present invention relates in general to barrel-unit of Fig. :5showing the safety-mechafirearms and more especially to safety-mechanismin its "01? position, and indicating by bronism by means of which thefire-control mechken lines the action of the safety to prevent the anismof the firearm may be rendered inoperabreech-bolt from returning intobreech-closing .tive automatically after each discharge of the 5position; and firearm. Fig. 7 :is a perspective view of the superior Anobject of the invention the provision of safety-mechanism .of thisinvention. superior safety-means which is of simple and The drawingsillustrate the invention as apeconomical construction, durable anddependable plied to an upturn-and-pullback type of bolt-acin use, andoperable automatically and .manually 10 tion firearm :and while theparticular embodiment for rendering the firearm safe. of the inventionshown herein is especially suit- A further object of the invention 'isto provide able for use with this type of firearm, it will be a superiorsafety-mechanism for firearms which understood that the inventionincludes all mod is operable manually for rendering the'fire-conifications of the embodiment shown herein withtrol mechanisminoperative or operative, at the in thescope ofztheappendedclaims.option of the user, and which is actuated auto- :Since thesafety-mechanism of this invention matically on opening the breech ofthe firearm is :assembled on the rear end of the receiver of to renderthe fire-control mechanism ineffective the fire .arm and associated inits entirety with until such time as the action is again closed and thisportion of the :receiver and the adjacent elelocked in breech-closingpositionand the safetyments of the breech-bolt and the fire-controlmechanism has been operated manually to remechanism, the presentdisclosure will relate prilease the fire-control mechanism. ma-rily tothese specific elements of the firearm,

A still further object of'the invention is to proas shown :in thedrawings, and will forego a devide an action-operated safety-mechanismmovtailed description of the firearm as a whole. For

able on opening the breech of the firearm from 5 a more .completedisclosure of an upturn-andits normal position into a position to renderthe pullback type .of firearm for which the safetyfire-oontrol mechanisminoperative, the safetymechanism of this invention is particularlymechanism serving also when in its 'ofi posiadapted, reference may bemade to the Crocket tion and the breech is open, to prevent move PatentN10.2,174;971,-Oct.'3,I939.

ment of the action into breech-closing position. Referring to Figs. 1and 3, the firearm embod- With the above and other objects in view, asies, in .brieia trame comprising a tubular receiver will appear to thoseskilled in :the art from the H1 having a barrel 1! threadedly secured inits present disclosure, this invention includes all 'feaforward :end,the barrel being provided at its rear tures in the said dislosure whichare novel over end 'with a cartridge-chamber l2. The bore of thepriorart. the tubular receiver constitutes a substantially- In "theaccompanying drawings, in which cercyindrical action-receiving passagel3 for guidtain modes of carrying out the present invention ing :the:action, and is provided adjacent its forare shown for illustrativepurposes: ward end, rearwardly of the cartridge-chamber Fig. 1 is abroken right side elevation of the I 2, with a .loadingend-ejectionopening l5. For barrel-unit of an upturn-and-pullback type of 40purposes .of brevity, the receiver-and-barrel asbolt-action firearmembodying the superior safesembly will be hereinafter referred to as thebarty-mechanism of this invention, the bolt being rel-unit. shown inbreech-closing position and the safety Mounted in the action-receivingpassage 13 of in its on :position; the receiver, with capacity forreciprocation Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the barrel-unit therein,.is the action which, in this instance, illustrated in Fig. 1 showingthe safety-mechacomprises acyllindrical breech-bolt 14 having an nismmounted on the underside thereof; axle firing-pin passage [6 forreception of the Fig. 3 is a fragmentary left-end elevation offiring-plunger 'I 'I. The latter is a substantially the barrel-unit andsafety-mechanism assembly blade-like member the rear end of which profvides an abutment I8 for the forward end of a Fig. 4 is a brokenright-side elevation, in secfiring-spring L9, the rear end of whichengages tion, of the barrel-unit of Fig. 1 showing details against anend-plug '20 mounted in the rear end of the bolt-action, thesafety-mechanism being .of the breech-bolt and secured therein by atransin its on position; verse pin2l. The rear end of the breech-boltFig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation in sec- 5 14 is ofreduceddiameter and provides a smooth tion similar to Fig. 4 but showing thesafetycylindrical exterior surface upon which turns a 'meGhanism D S andindicating'by bolt-operating sleeve 22 having a laterally ofiset brokenlines the displacement of the fire-control ibolt operating handle23. Theaforesaid bolt-opmechanism for releasing the 'firing plunger; cratingsleeve 22 is held on the reduced rear Fig. 6 is a fragmentary bottomplan view of the end-portion of the bolt by means of aretainingwardly-facing cocking-shoulder 32 which the upper guide 25being engageable in a longi- H tudinal groove 28 in the upper wall ofthe reduced rear end-portion of the breech-bolt.- The lower guide 21 ofthe firing-plunger is engaged in a longitudinal slot 29 in the bottomwall of the reduced rear end-portion of the breech-bolt, and is providedwith a downwardly-extending finger 30 adapted to engage in a cam-slotformed in the aforesaid bolt-operating sleeve 22.

The firing-plunger I1 is also provided on its underside adjacent itsforward end with a for- IS adapted to be engaged by a rearwardly-facingcocking-shoulder 33 of the substantially-horizontal sear-arm 34 offire-control mechanism indicated generally at 35. As shown especiallywell in Fig. 1, the latter constitutes a sear-and-trigger unit embodyinga substantially-vertical triggerarm 36 terminatingat its lower end in atrigger or finger-piece 31.

The sear-and-trigger unit is formed from substantially-fiat sheet-metalstock and is adapted to be pivotally supported on the underside of thereceiver by a pivot-pin 38 extending transversely through the horizontalsear-arm 34 of the searand-trigger unit substantially intermediate thecocking-shoulder and finger-piece thereof, and mounted in a post 39welded or otherwise secured to the underside of the receiver, the post39 depending substantially vertically therefrom and having a verticalslot 4| extending upwardly therein in a plane coincident with thelongitudinal axis of the receiver. The width of the vertical slot 4| isonly slightly greater than the thickness of the aforesaid sear-arm ofthe trigger-and- .sear unit so that the latter may make a close fittherein but be free for pivotal movement about the pivot-pin 38 whichextends across the slot 4! and is engaged at its opposite ends intransverse axially-aligned apertures 42-42 in the upper part of the post39.

Rearwardly of the pivot-pin 38, and extending substantially verticallythrough the sear-arm 34 into the trigger-arm 36 of the sear-and-triggerunit, is an aperture 43 for the reception of a coilspring 44 and itsplunger 45, the upper end of which is adapted to engage against theunderside of the safety-mechanism of this invention, in the mannerhereinafter described, both to control the operation of the latter andnormally to hold the rearwardly-facing cocking-shoulder 33 of thesear-and-trigger unit up in position for engagement with theforwardly-facing cockingshoulder 32 of the firing-plunger I1. Withrespect to its former function, the spring-andplunger assemblyconstitutes detent-means to releasably hold the safety in either of twoselected positions in the manner hereinafter described; and as to itslatter function, the springand-plunger assembly will be seen to serve asa trigger-spring.

As shown especially well in Figs. 4 and 5, the upper rear end of thehorizontal sear-arm 34 of the sear-and-trigger unit is provided with anupwardly-projecting lip hereinafter referred to as a stop-abutment 46.-The latter is arranged substantially opposite the forward end of alongitudinal substantially-vertical slot 41 formed in the bottom wall ofthe receiver and extending rearwardly to intersect the rear end thereof.The

slot 41 is provided for accommodating a safetyoperating pin 48 which isfixedly secured in any suitable manner on the underside of theretaining-sleeve 25 of the breech-bolt and projects downwardlysubstantially vertically therefrom into the aforesaid slot 41 to engageand operate the safety-mechanism as and in the manner hereinafterdescribed. The diameter of the aforesaid safety-operating pin 48 is lessthan the transverse dimension of the longitudinal slot 41 whereby thepin is free to move longitudinally therein during movement of thebreech-bolt to and from breech-closing position.

The aforesaid safety-operating pin 48 and the upwardly-projectingstop-abutment 46 of the sear-and-trigger unit are adapted to cooperatewith the improved safety-mechanism of this invention, in the mannerhereinafter described, for automatically rendering the fire-controlmechanism 35 inoperative whenever the breechbolt is moved rearwardly toopen the cartridgechamber of the barrel; and for blocking the return ofthe breech-bolt into breech-closing position in the event thesafety-mechanism has been inadvertently moved into its off position.

Referring especially to Fig. 7, the improved safety-mechanism or safetyof this invention is indicated generally at 49 and comprises asheetmetal member embodying a lobe-portion 58 having a vertical aperture5| therein, the diameter of which is only slightly greater than thediameter of the aforesaid post 39- whereby the safety may be rotatablymounted thereon, in the manner hereinafter described. Extending from thelobeportion 5|] of the safety is a crooked finger-portion 52 and asubstantially square-ended thumb portion 53, the flnger-and-thumbportions of the safety being arranged in substantially the relationshipof the finger'and thumb of the hand, that is to say, the thumb-portionbeing consid erably shorter than the finger-portion and spaced therefromby a clearance-aperture 54. The inside edge 55 of the finger-portionconstitutes a cam-surface for cooperation by the safety-operating pin 48of the breech-bolt. Formed integrally on the underside of the safety atsubstantially the base of its thumb-portion 53, is a pair ofsubstantially-rectangular indentations 56-56 arranged in juxtapositionand each substantially inverted V-shaped in cross section. Theindentations 5B-56 constitute elements of the aforesaid detent-means,and to' this end are adapted to be engaged by the spring-loaded plunger45 thereof for releasably holding the safety in any selected position.

Extending from the outer :edge of the lobeportion 50 of the safety atsubstantially right angles to its thumb-and-finger portions, is anoperating-arm 51, the outer reach of which is bent upwardly atsubstantially right angles and provided at its upper extremity with apair of laterally-spaced ears 58 which are pinched together at theirouter ends to form a convenient fingergrip for operating the safety.

The latter is adapted to be mounted on the aforesaid post 39 of thereceiver between the underside of the latter and the upper edge of thesear-arm 34 by engaging the apertured lobe 50 of the safety over thelower end of the post prior to mounting the-.sear-and-trigger unit inthe slot thereof, and sliding the safety upwardly until it engagesagainst the bottom of the receiver. The safety is held in this positionby means of the pivot-pin 38 which is employed to mount thesear-and-trigger unit in the slot access/4 of the ,post, following(assembly of "the safety thereon. To this end, the oppositely-disposedends of the pin .proiect beyond the corresponding sides of the post andengage with the underside of the lobe-portion-of the safety, as shownespecially well in Figs. .2 and 6. One end of the aforesaid pin 38 isextended to serve also as a fixed abutment or stop 59, adapted to :beengaged by a protuberance -69 struck down from the underside of the.lobe 5.9 of the safety adjaroent the periphery of its central aperture-5-l to limit rotation of the safety in a clockwise dir rection about:the post :39, as-seen in Fig. 2.

-With the safety and sear-andatriggernnit assembled on the post in the:manner herein-above described, the spring-loaded plunger 45 of thesear-and-trigger unit is adapted to engage .at its upper end against theunderside of the safety and in particular in one or the other :of the V-.shaped indentations :158--'5.6, to :resiliently hold the :safety ineither of two selected positions :of rotation both with respect .to thestop-abutment -48 of the :sear-and-trigger unit and the :safetyoperatingpin '48 of 'the breech bolt. Moreover,

the spring 34 and plunger 35 .act also as a trigger-spring meansnormally to urge the searand-tr-igger unit to rotate .in acounterclockwise direction, as seen especially well'in Figs. 'and 15, toresiliently hold the cocking-shoulder of the -sear-arm in position forengagement with the cocking-shoulder of the firing-plunger; and topermit disengagement of the mutually-engaging cocking-shoulders when thefinger-piece :of the sear-and-trigger assembly is pulled rearwardly, asindicated by the broken lines in-Fig. 5,-thereby torelease thecockedfiring-plunger.

The safety is in its normal :or on position when the finger-grip 58 hasbeen pulled rearwardly, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, to 'bring thethumb-portion 53 of the safety immediately above and substantially inengagement with the upper edge of the stop-abutment ofthesearand-trigger unit. Consequently, when an effort is exerted on thefinger-piece of the trigger to pull the latter rearwardly for releasingthe cooked firing-plunger, it is effectively resisted by engagement ofthe upper edge of the stopabutment 4'6 of the 'sear-and-trigger unitwith the underside of the thumb-portion 53 *of the safety. Thesear-'and-trigger unit of the firecontrol mechanism is thus lockedagainst inadvertent release. To release the sear-and-trigger unitpreparatory to discharging the "-firearm,'the finger-grip '58 of thesafety is pushed "forwardly,

as indicated in Fig. 5, against the resistance of l the detent-meanshereinabove described, to'swing the thumb-portion of the safety out ofalignment with the upper edge of the stop-abutment of thesear-and-trigger unit so that the stopabutment is free to move upwardlyinto the forward end of the clearance-slot 4? of "the receiver and hencepermit disengagement of the mutually-engaging cocking-shoulders ofthe'seararm and firing-plunger when the trigger is pulled rearwardly .todischarge the firearm.

Under the latter set of conditions, the finger- :portion of the safetywill be seen to have been swung inwardly from its normaloutwardly-displaced position of Fig. 2, to a position such that itscam-surface 55 extends across the longitudinal clearance-slot ll in theunderside of the receiver directly in the path of the safety-operatiingpin 48 and rearwardly thereof, as shown especially well in Fig. '6. Now,when'the breech- .bolt is unlocked and *begins its rearward movement inthe :receiver to open the breech, the safety-operating pin '48 of thebreech-bolt is moved immediately into engagement with the cam-surface 55of the finger-portion of the safety, thereby cam-ming the finger-portionof the safety in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 6, outof the :path of the safety-operating pin and "concurrently swinging thethumb-portion of the :safety automatically back to its normal or safetyon position immediately above and substantially in engagement with theupper edge of the stop-abutment of the sear-and-trigger unit where it is"resiliently held by the detent-means "hereinabove described. Thethumb-portion of 'the safety thuseffectively locks the sear-and-trigger.un'it against release even before the breech is sufficiently open toload a fresh cartridge into the chamber of the barrel. After thefiringplungerhas been cocked and the breech-bolt returned tobreech-closing position the safety must "be operated "manually, in themanner hereinabove described, to again permit actuation of thesearand-trigger unit.

A further safety-factor of the improved safety of this invention is thefunction of the safetyfinger 52 to block the return of the breech-boltfrom its rearward position in the receiver into breech-closing positionwhenever the safety has been inadvertently moved to its off positionwhile the breech is open. Should the latter circumstance exist, thefinger-portion 52 of the safety will have been swung across thelongitudinal slot 41 of the receiver forwardly of and directly in thepath of the rearwardly-displaced safety-operating pin 48 of thebreech-bolt and hence will constitute a stop to positively hold thebreech-bolt, as shown by broken lines in Fig. 6, from returning intobreech-closing position while the safety is in its off position. Bymoving the safety to its on position, the fingerportion of the safetymay be swung out of the path of the safety-operating pin 48 of thebreech-bolt thereby'allowing the breech-bolt to move forwardly 'in'tobreech-closing position.

The safety-mechanism is characterized by its simplicity of constructionand operation, whereby a single member is arranged in cooperativerelationship with the breech-bolt and fire-control mechanism 'of thefirearm to automatically shift into its on" or safe position wheneverthe breech-bolt is moved rearwardly in the receiver, and which servesalso to prevent closing of the breech-bolt when the safety is in its offposition.

The invention may be carried out in other specific Ways than thoseherein set forth without departing from the spirit and essentialcharacteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are,therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalencyrange of the appended claims are intended tobe embraced .therei-n.

Inlaim:

.1. In .a firearm, including in combination: a frame; an actionreciprocable in said frame; a spring-actuatedfiring-member; asear-and-trigger unit for .releasably holding said firing-member in.itscocked position in said frame, said-searand-trigger .unit having asubstantially-horizontel sear-arm and trigger-arm at substantially rightangles thereto; a stop-abutment on .sear-and-ftrigger unit; safety-meansrotatably supported on said frame and Inovable laterally to and fromengaging relationship with the stop abutment of said unit; andsafety-operating means carried by said action, said safety-operatingmeans being arranged to be displaced rearwardly in said frame byretraction of said action therein, to engage and automatically rotatesaid safety-means into position for engagement with the stop-abutment ofsaid sear-and-trigger unit to positively restrain the said unit againstmovement into position to release said spring-actuated firing-memberwhile said action is retracted in said frame.

2. In a firearm, including in combination: a frame; an actionreciprocable in said frame; a spring-actuated firing-member; asear-and-trigger unit for releasably holding said firing-member in itscocked position in said frame, said sear-and-trigger unit having asubstantiallyhorizontal sear-arm and a trigger-arm at substantiallyright angles thereto; a stop-abutment on the sear-and-trigger unit;safety-means; fastening-means arranged to rotatably support saidsafety-means on said frame between the underside thereof and thestop-abutment of said sear-and-trigger unit for movement laterally toand from engaging relationship therewith; and safety-operating meanscarried by said action, said safety-operating means being arranged to bedisplaced rearwardly in said frame by retraction of said action thereinto engage and automatically rotate said safety-means into position forengagement with the stop-abutment of said sear-and-trigger unit topositively restrain the said unit against movement into position torelease said spring-actuated firing-member when said action is retractedin said frame.

3. In a firearm, including in combination: a frame; an actionreciprocable in said frame; a spring-actuated firing-member; asear-and-trigger unit for releasably holding said firing-member in itscocked position in said frame, said searand-trigger unit having asubstantially-horizontal sear-arm and a trigger-arm at substantiallyright angles thereto; a stop-abutment on the sear-arm of said unit;safety-means; fasteningmeans arranged to rotatably support saidsafetymeans on said frame between the underside thereof and thestop-abutment of said sear-andtrigger unit for movement laterally to andfrom engaging relationship therewith; safety-operating means carried bysaid action, said safetyoperating means being arranged to be displacedrearwardly in said frame by retraction of said action therein to engageand automatically rotate said safety-means into position for engagementwith the stop-abutment of said sear-andtrigger unit to positivelyrestrain the said unit against movement into position to release saidspring-actuated firing-member when said action is retracted in saidframe; and a protuberance on said safety-means arranged to be moved intoengagement with said fastening-means to limit rotation of saidsafety-means about said fastening-means.

4. In a firearm, including in combination: a frame; an actionreciprocable in said frame; a spring-actuated firing-member; asear-andtrigger unit for releasably holding said firingmember in itscocked position in said frame, said sear-and-trigger unit having asubstantiallyhorizontal sear-arm and a trigger-arm at substantiallyright angles thereto; supporting-means projecting from the underside ofsaid frame for pivotally mounting said sear-and-trigger unit thereon formovement in a substantiallyevertical plane; a stop-abutment on thesear-arm of said 'unit; safety-means mounted on the saidsupporting-means of said sear-and-trigger unit for rotation in asubstantially-horizontal plane between the underside of said frame andthe stopabutment of said sear-and-trigger unit and to and from engagingrelationship with the stopabutment of said sear-arm; andsafety-operating means carried by said action, said safety-operatingmeans being arranged to be displaced rearwardly in said frame byretraction of said action therein to engage and automatically rotatesaid safety-means into position for engagement with the stop-abutment ofsaid sear-and-trigger unit to positively restrain the said unit againstmovement into position to release said spring-actuated firing-memberwhen said action is retracted in said frame.

5. In a firearm, including in combination: a frame; an actionreciprocable in said frame; a spring-actuated firing-member; asear-andtrigger unit for releasably holding said firingmember in itscocked position in said frame, said sear-and-trigger unit having asubstantiallyhorizontal sear-arm and a trigger-arm at substantiallyright angles thereto; a stop-abutment on the sear-and-trigger unit;safety-means rotatably supported on said frame and movable laterally toand from engaging relationship with the stop-abutment of said unit;safety-operating means carried by said action, said safety-operatingmeans being arranged to be displaced rearwardly in said frame byretraction of said action therein, to engage and automatically rotatesaid safety-means into position for engagement with the stop-abutment ofsaid sear-and-trigger unit to positively restrain the said unit againstmovement into position to release said spring-actuated firing-memberwhile said action is retracted in said frame; and detent-meansengageable with said safety-means to releasably hold said safetymeans inposition for engagement by the stopabutment of said sear-arm.

6. In a firearm, including in combination: a frame; an actionreciprocable in said frame; a spring-actuated firing-member; asear-andtrigger unit for releasably holding said firingmember in itscocked position in said frame, said sear-and-trigger unit having asubstantiallyhorizontal sear-arm and a trigger-arm at substantiallyright angles thereto; a stop-abutment on the sear-arm of said unit;safety-means rotatably supported on said frame and movable laterally toand from engaging relationship with the stop-abutment of said sear-arm;safety-operating means carried by said action, said safetyoperatingmeans being arranged to be displaced rearwardly in said frame byretraction of said action therein, to engage and automatically rotatesaid safety-means into position for engagement with the stop-abutment ofsaid sear-andtrigger unit to positively restrain the said unit againstmovement into position to release said spring-actuated firing-memberwhile said action is retracted in said frame; and safety-detent meanscarried by said sear-and-trigger unit, said detent-means being arrangedto releasably hold said safety-means in position for engagement by thestop-abutment of said sear-arm and to releasably hold saidsear-and-trigger unit in position for engaging said firing-member.

7. In a bolt-action firearm, including in combination: a receiver havinga chamber and a substantially-vertical slot in the rear end thereof; abreech-bolt reciprocable in the chamber of said receiver; aspring-actuated firing-member carried by said breech-bolt; asear-and-trigger unit for releasably holding said firing-member incocked position in said receiver, said searand-trigger unit having asubstantially-horizontal sear-arm and a trigger-arm at substantiallyright angles thereto; a stop-abutment on said sear-arm, saidstop-abutment being substantially opposite the vertical slot of saidreceiver for movement therein when said sear-and-trigger unit is movedinto its firing-member releasing position; safety-means rotatablysupported on said frame between said vertical slot and the abutment ofsaid sear-and-trigger unit, said safety-means being movable laterallyover and away from the said vertical slot of said receiver; and a pincarried by said breech-bolt, said pin being movable rearwardly in thevertical slot of the receiver by displacement of said breech-boltrearwardly in the chamber thereof to engage and automatically rotatesaid safety-means over the slot of said receiver thereby positivelyblocking the said stop-abutment of said sear-arm from moving upwardlyinto said slot whereby said sear-and-trigger unit is restrained fromreleasing said spring-actuated firing-member while said breech-bolt isretracted in said receiver.

8. In a firearm, including in combination: a receiver; a breech-boltreciprocable in said receiver; a spring-actuated firing-member; asearand-trigger unit for releasably holding said firingmember in itscocked position in said receiver, said sear-and-trigger unit having asubstantiallyhorizontal sear-arm and a trigger-arm at substantiallyright angles thereto; a stop-abutment on the sear-arm of said unit;safety-means comprising a thumb-portion and a finger-"portion;fastening-means arranged to rotatably support said safety-means on saidreceiver for movement laterally between the underside thereof and thestop-abutment of said sear-and-trigger unit; and safety-operating meanscarried by said breechbolt, said safety-operating means being arrangedto 'be displaced rearwardly in said receiver b retraction of said bolttherein to engage the fingerportion of said safety-means andautomatically rotate said safety-means about said fasteningmeans so asto swing the thumb-portion of said safety-means into position forengagement by the stop-abutment of said sear-and-trigger unit topositively restrain the said unit against movement into position torelease said spring-actuated firing-member while said breech-bolt isretracted in said receiver, said safety-means being mova- 'ble manuallyfrom its sear-and-trigger-unitrestraining position and while saidbreech-bolt is retracted in said receiver, to withdraw the thumb-portionof said safety-means from its sear-and-trigger-unit-restraining positionwhereupon :the said finger-portion of said safety-means is moved intothe path of the said safety-operating means of said breech-bolt topositively hold said breech-bolt rearwar dly in said receiver.

9. In a firearm, including in combination: a receiver; a breech-boltreciprocable in said receiver; la spring-actuated firing-member; ascarandtrigger unit for releasably holding said firing-member in itscocked position in said receiver, said sear-and-trigger unit having asubstantiallyhorizontal sear-arm and a trigger-arm at substantiallyright angles thereto; a stop-abutment on the sear-arm of said unit;safety-means comprising a thumb-portion and a finger-portion;fastening-means arranged to rotatably sup-port said safety-means on saidreceiver for movement laterally between the underside thereof and thestop-abutment of said sear-and-trigger unit; safety-operating meanscarried by said breechbolt, said safety-operating means being arrangedto be displaced rearw-ardly in said receiver by retraction of said bolttherein to engage the fingerp-oition of said safety-means andautomatically rotate said safety-means about said fasteningmeans so asto swing the thumb-portion of said safety-means into position forengagement by the stop-abutment of said sear-and-trigger unit topositively restrain :the said unit against movement into position torelease said springeactuated firing-member while said breech-bolt isretracted in said receiver, said safety-means being movable manuallyfrom its sear-and-trigger-unitrestraining position and while saidbreech-bolt is retracted in said receiver, to withdraw the thumbportionof said safety-means from its searandtrigger-unit-res=training positionwhereupon the said finger-portion of said safety-means is moved into thepath of the said safety-operating means of said breech-bolt topositively hold said breechbolt reanwardl in said receiver; anddetentmeans engageable with said safety-means to releasably hol-d saidsafety-means in engagement with the stop-abutment of said sear-arm torestrain the release of said spring actuated firing member, saiddetent-means being mounted in the said sear-and-trigger unit toreleasably hold sai'd unit in position for engaging said firing-member.

WILLIAM C. ROEMER.

N 0 references cited.

